Les soeurs Brontë

A feast of perfect acting (the three actresses earn applause), inspired direction and splendid photography (which evokes the outside and the inner landscapes of the sister writers), but strictly reserved to Bronte admirers. The screenplay, built upon continuous references to the Bronte artistic work, can create a sense of icy estrangement, but who is familiar with the writings and the life of the Bronte sisters (maybe through the cult Charlotte bio by Elizabeth Gaskell) will be enchanted. It is a pity this movie remains mainly unseen. The only chance to obtain it at the moment is to get the Spanish DVD which also features the French version.

Although I saw this film in 1979/1980 it was one of the most memorable movies of my movie viewing days. The photography was excellent and is to my mind one of the best alongside 2 or 3 other films that have appealed to my artistic senses. At the time I thought 'trust the French to make a movie about the English that is so beautifully executed'. This may sound very "highbrow" but not really. If you are into foreign language films well acted and visually appealing this is a film for you. I have been searching ever since for a chance to view it again. Top Marks 10/10

Exquisite direction, beautiful cinematography and precise performances of all the entire cast cannot prevent this film of being excessively cold. The mood tries to recreate the unexciting existences and fatalist life philosophy of the Brönte sisters, but it makes the film icy and a little dull. However, the worst of all is that you can rarely connect with such cold characters through freezing (but after all deliberate) acting. Nice effort, but failed anyway.

When the movie was released,it met mixed critical reception.The director seemed more interested in Brother Brontë and the audience was waiting for the sisters ,or should I say the actresses ,Marie -France Pisier (an intellectual thespian) ,Isabelle Huppert ,the rising star and above all ,Adjani the idol of the crowds of the era.

Objections to this costume drama remain:too few of the scenes are really potent,the actresses are too attractive (have you seen portraits of the sisters ? They were not really beauties ),nothing (or almost nothing ) deals with literary creation ,unless some (splendid) pictures of the Moor count.

It's interesting to note that the movie was cut drastically: they say almost an hour is missing .It's hard to judge a truncated version.Maybe some day ,the film as intended by Téchiné will be shown.

This is the one single wonderful biography about the Brontës!

You feel, it's French: cold, realistic and authentic... Ok, and it seems to be a little boring at the beginning; and there is no one single highlight turing the whole film. But isn't it a magnum opus? I think, exactly this kind of silence gives the film its power. Listen to the words! There is almost no dialogue without a hidden allusion to poems by the Brontë-sisters.

And Isabelle Hupperts' sensitive performance is definitely outstanding.